In their first game out of the Christmas break, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 in a shootout at American Airlines Center on Saturday night. It’s the first win for the Blackhawks since star forward Connor Bedard got injured on Dec. 12, just over two weeks ago.
Despite being without Bedard, Frank Nazar, and captain Nick Foligno due to injury, the Blackhawks went toe-to-toe with the NHL’s second-best team to snap their six-game losing streak. Chicago was also without elite penalty-killer Ilya Mikheyev, who was away from the team after his wife recently gave birth to their first child.
In their absence, the Blackhawks received remarkable efforts from several players in Dallas to pull off an improbable win. Tyler Bertuzzi, who was without a point in six consecutive games, scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season. Defensive stalwart Alex Vlasic had one of his best games of the season, recording two assists in a team-high 25:45 of ice time. Former Star Jason Dickinson also scored his second goal in the last five games.
But perhaps the best performance of any Blackhawk came from backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who got the start in the front end of a back-to-back for the first time this season. After struggling mightily for the past month, Soderblom came out of the three-day Holiday break with a vengeance. He stopped 28 of 31 shots faced, plus three of four attempts by the Stars in the shootout, to earn his first victory since Nov. 18. Soderblom was credited with 2.11 goals saved above expected and stopped 15 of 17 high-danger shots.
The Blackhawks leaned heavily on Soderblom all night long, but especially during the third period and overtime. The Stars put 15 shots on goal combined in the third and three-on-three frame, including a handful of point-blank chances, but Soderblom stayed composed and kept his team in the game time and time again.
Then, when the game remained tied through 65 minutes, it was rookie Nick Lardis who potted the shootout winner to give the Blackhawks the extra point. It’s been a strange first NHL stint for Lardis thus far, as he’s been mostly utilized in a bottom-six role, even though he’s known mostly for his goal-scoring prowess and offensive abilities. But when head coach Jeff Blashill called his number in the shootout, Lardis came up clutch with the game on his stick. That figures to boost his chances of receiving a larger role from Blashill moving forward.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 4-3 shootout win, which moves their record to 14-17-6 through 37 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
For just the second time in six games without Bedard, the Blackhawks scored the opening goal to jump ahead 1-0 on Saturday. Vlasic joined the rush and made a terrific cross-ice feed to find Bertuzzi with an open-net for his 17th goal of the season. The goal snaps a six-game point drought for Bertuzzi, who’s been far too quiet without Bedard.
Landon Slaggert➡️Alex Vlasic➡️Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Bertuzzi snaps his 6-game goal drought with his 17th tally of the season! Great feed from Vlasic to give Bert an open net. 1-0 #Blackhawks early.pic.twitter.com/O8Y7Vcwg0A
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 28, 2025
But just past the midway point of the period, the Stars answered to tie the game 1-1. Nils Lundkvist’s shot from the point found its way through traffic and past Soderblom. Both Ryan Donato and Sam Steel provided screens on the play. Mikko Rantanen extended his point streak to six games with the primary assist.
The score remained level as the game entered the first intermission. Despite being so shorthanded, the Blackhawks impressively led 11-10 in shots on goal and were also ahead 8-6 in scoring chances at even strength. That’s precisely the start they were looking for out of the break.
SECOND PERIOD
The Blackhawks kept up their great work in the early stages of the second period, and they managed to regain the lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
Dickinson provided an incredible individual effort to race from end to end and snap home his fourth goal of the season to put the visitors ahead 2-1. It’s Dickinson’s second goal in the last five games. He’s been playing as the team’s top-line center without Bedard and Nazar, and it’s fantastic to see him chip in offensively in that role.
Artyom Levshunov➡️Jason Dickinson🚨
Dickinson goes end to end for his 4th goal of the season & 2nd in the last 5 games. Levshunov is now solo 3rd among all NHL rookies with 16 assists this year. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/gLeuZSffir
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 28, 2025
The lead didn’t last very long for Chicago, however, as the Stars answered back just 55 seconds later. Justin Hryckowian followed up on Wyatt Johnston’s shot that rang off the crossbar to tie the game up 2-2. Hryckowian now has points in five straight games.
Once again, the score was tied going into the intermission. The Blackhawks were still ahead in shots on goal, leading 20-16 through 40 minutes. Chicago was also ahead 17-12 in scoring chances.
THIRD PERIOD
With the score still level past the halfway marker in the third, Soderblom made a magnificent save on Stars’ captain Jamie Benn to keep the game level at two apiece.
Soderblom stood tall again in the moments following Benn’s chance, but eventually, the Stars got the puck past him. After a miscue between Vlasic and Ryan Greene in the defensive zone, Rantenen knocked home Johnston’s rebound to make it 3-2. It was the third point of the game for both Rantanen and Johnston.
Just like the Stars did in the second period, the Blackhawks answered right back to tie the game again. Connor Murphy deflected Vlasic’s shot from the point in the slot, and the puck trickled right to Bertuzzi with a yawning cage for his second goal of the evening. 3-3.
Alex Vlasic➡️Connor Murphy➡️Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Bertuzzi answers right back to tie the game 3-3 with his 2nd goal of the game & 18th of the season! Vlasic picks up his 2nd assist of the night. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/VJcqf9Eay6
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 28, 2025
With just over five minutes remaining, Rantanen had a shot at his fourth point of the game on a breakaway, but Soderblom made yet another dandy of a save to keep the game tied.
The horn sounded after 60 minutes, and the two teams were deadlocked once again. For the first time since Bedard got injured, the Blackhawks earned a point by reaching overtime.
SHOOTOUT
Neither team could put an end to the game in OT, so a shootout was required to signal the winner. It was just the third shootout of the season for the Blackhawks, and they were 0-2 in their previous pair.
In the bottom half of the second round, Donato patiently outwaited Jake Oettinger to beat him with the backhand and put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0.
The Stars needed Matt Duchene to score during the top of the third round to extend the shootout, and he did exactly that by beating Soderblom five-hole with a nifty shot.
After Soderblom stopped Johnston in the front end of the fourth round, Lardis hit the ice for a chance to win the game for the Blackhawks in the bottom half. The 2023 third-round pick skated in down the right-hand side and snapped a shot past Oettinger’s blocker to lift Chicago to its first win since Dec. 10, two and a half weeks ago. What a moment for Lardis.
After going 0-6 in their first three sets of back-to-backs, the Blackhawks finally have a win under their belt when playing two games in as many nights. Hopefully, they’ll carry this momentum over to their game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center.
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